A gift from St. Philip’s parishioners made it possible to commission a custom carved stone baptismal font.  A medieval font at the parish of St. Mary the Virgin in Ewell, England, inspired the design, which was created by Andrew Wilson Smith Sculpture Studio for St. Philip’s.  Each side of the bowl represents a different fruit or plant with its flower depicted underneath: grape, dogwood, pear, pomegranate, wheat, post oak, and olive.   All have associations with the Holy Land or are mentioned in the Scriptures, and all have been chosen from species that grow here in Texas.  The use of plants and flowers in this way is a nod to the original design that inspired our font.  Catholic artists have always understood all of creation as a “second Gospel,” the handiwork of God which points back to Him.   Every fruit and flower is a symbol that reveals its Maker.  The ornamental carvings on our baptismal font have been particularly chosen to symbolize themes from the Gospel of Matthew:
 
By their fruits, you shall know them (Matthew 7:16-20): All sides of the font show a flower becoming a fruit.  Good fruits come forth from the good flowers.  The progress of the Christian life, which begins at Baptism, is thus shown; the soul responsive to God’s grace is a “good tree” which can be known by the “good fruits” of a life led by the Holy Spirit.
 
The parable of the wheat and the weeds (Matthew 13:24-30 and 36-43): The eighth side of the font depicts thistles and wheat growing together to represent this parable.  The man who sowed good seed permits both the wheat and the weeds to grow together, lest a good plant be destroyed by prematurely separating them.  Christ thus shows us how God’s mercy allows every opportunity of conversion, and also warns of the need to protect the grace of Baptism from the beginning.

Eight Sides
In Genesis, we read of the creation of the world in seven days.  The “eighth day” is the day after the completion of creation, and is also the day of Christ’s resurrection.  Eight is thus a symbol of eternity and perfection.  It is now an established tradition to have eight-sided baptismal fonts, reminding us of our entrance through Baptism into the renewal of creation accomplished by Christ.